


Big Damn Heroes

by wingedgods



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Smuggler bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 08:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9428819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedgods/pseuds/wingedgods
Summary: The thing about smugglers is, they almost all know each other.





	

“Liana Hallik, now that girl can pack a punch!” Chewie roared in agreement, Han raising his mug in mock salute. A sizable crowd had rounded around Han and Chewie, the Rebellion base’s hanger turned into a mock social space for Resistance fighters. The fighters, unsure of their place in a world where the war is over but the government is stuck in limbo, had embraced a certain freedom: laughing, gambling, and drinking to the memory of those they lost. Han, following a long tradition of drinking, participated in competitive storytelling, often winning with embellished narrations of his and Chewie’s exploits.

              “Barely comes up to my shoulder and knocked my straight on my ass first time we met. Of course, I was drunk at the time.”

              “Of course, you were,” Leia drawled, causing jeers from the crowd. Lando laughed out loud, wrapping an arm around Leia’s shoulders.

              “That girl knocked me on my ass when I tried to be a gentleman, she definitely could whip his sober ass.” Han sputtered, mouth hanging open.

              “I’ll have you know—“

              “Did you say Liana Hallik?” A voice cut through the crowd.

              The crowd parted cautiously as General Draven approached Han. Draven was not known to join in the festivities, and his presence made the crowd uneasy. Han and Chewie exchanged a quick glance, before standing up together, posture rigid.

              “What’s it to you?” Han’s hand reflexively move toward his leg holster, eyes never leaving Draven’s face.

              “Did Liana ever go by another name?” Chewie growled lightly, before Han put a hand on his shoulder.

              “Smugglers often change their names, especially damn fine ones. She was 2nd only to me, obviously.” Han’s joke failed to land as his hand gripped his gun. Leia jumped up and stood between the men.

              “General, what are you trying to ask?” She ordered, invoking her regal status.

              “Liana Hallik was a fake identity of Jyn Erso, your highness.” Han started at the name.

              “What the—” Leia cut him off.  

              “Jyn Erso? Of the Rogue One mission?” The hanger was deathly quiet.

              “What the hell are you all talking about?”

-

              It started with a kick. Well, to be fair, it started with a rude comment. Han doesn’t remember what he said, but he remembers a kick to the knee and an elbow on his back when he went down. Then there was a foot on his jaw.

              “Want to repeat that again?” A part of Han had really wanted to repeat the comment out of some ill-conceived notion of pride, but mostly he wanted to remove his face from the sticky floor of the bar.

              “Chewie, a little help?” The Wookie just chuckled. “Some first mate you are.” The foot against his jaw pressed down. “Okay, okay, I yield. Damn.” The foot pressed down a little harder before stepping off. Rubbing his jaw, Han stood up and studied the petite girl in front of him. She couldn’t be more then seventeen, but she held herself like a fighter, readied to attack again if provoked. Han held up his hands in defeat. “Whoa there sister, I’ve learned my lesson.”

              “Don’t call me sister.” She unclenched her fists, while looking up and down him disapprovingly.  Chewie chuckled.

              _“Buy her a drink.”_

              “What are you kidding me?” Han did not buy drinks for girls who knock him on his ass just on principle. Jyn grinned at the Wookie.

              “I’ll take a drink with you, but not this shyster.” Han couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping, while Chewie roared in approval.

              “Wait where did you learn Wookie?” He asked to her back, while simultaneously gesturing to the bartender for three more drinks. The bartender returned with the drinks and some ice wrapped in a dirty cloth, smirking. The girl just arched an eyebrow at Han, before turning back to Chewie.

              “How’d you get stuck with this one?”

              “Hey I’m right here you know!” Han did not appreciate being ignored. He slammed back his drink, then wiped his mouth. “C’mon Chewie we got to meet that contact.”

              “I don’t suppose that contact would be Liana Hallik, would it?” Han scowled.

              “What’s it to ya?” She smirked. Han groaned. Chewie laughed and pounded Liana’s back. Han took some satisfaction that the girl at least winced at that.

              “I don’t make it a habit of working with children.” Liana rolled her eyes.

              “I don’t make it a habit of working with loud mouth attention seekers, but here we are.”

              “ _I like her.”_

              “Shut up Chewie.”

\--

              Leia put her hand on Han’s arm. Han did not like the look on her face. He pushed her off.

              “Where is she? What did you do with her?”

“She joined us.” Han did not believe Draven for a second.

“On her own accord?” Draven cleared his throat.

“Well not initially, no.” Prison, shackles, interrogation, torture were tactics Han pictured being used on Jyn; he didn’t care what the Rebellion said they were, he knew what people were capable of in war. Jyn’s scared words sounded in his head from the first time she trusted him with a secret.

-

              “What the fuck is Jyn Erso?” Liana looked scared for the first time since Han had met her a year back.  She started to back away, hand slipping towards her gun. “Whoa girl what’s going on? Who did you piss off since the last time I’ve seen you?” They had run a few missions since their first meeting in that dingy bar. Lianna was a decent smuggling partner and good in a tight spot. She was growing on him, like a tumor.

              “Me.” Her eyes were big, mouth turned down, and Han was suddenly reminded of how young she was. “It’s me.”

              “Alright, so you got caught smuggling you shouldn’t have, and that’s why they’re after you.” Han said it as a statement, even though his gut told him it was more complicated than that.

              “It’s more complicated than that.” Han hated being right. The ship rocked, pushing the two of them against the wall.

              “Damn it Chewie what’s going on back there!” He got a stressed-out howl from the Wookie in return, and ran his hands through his hair.

              “How bad?” Jyn swallowed in response. Then the calm façade formed back on her face, all traces of fear gone. Whoever trained her to be a soldier trained her well; Han did not think highly of them. Her shoulders went rigid, and the hand was sliding back to her gun. Han went to grab her arm, then thought better of it.

              “Look, just trust me a little bit more alright.” Jyn stared at him. “We don’t have time for this.” He could hear Chewie roaring in the background, and the sounds of the Millennium Falcon struggling to out run the Empire vessel. Han pushed her away from the bridge. “Go underneath and watch the engine. My girl may need a little extra help on this run.” She ran without a word. Han rushed back to the bridge and grabbed the seat next to Chewie.

              “You know Jyn always said Millenium Falcon didn’t live up to the hype.”

              “ _Time to prove her wrong.”_

-

              “What do you know about Liana Halilk?”

 Han scowled.

              “Know enough that we can call her Jyn Erso. Know enough that you might do something stupid with her.”

              _I will rip his arms out of his socket if he doesn’t tell us where Jyn is_. Chewie was towering over Draven, who, while face calm, had a small bead of sweat run down his face.

              “Stupid is a debatable word.” Han whipped back around to face Leia.

              “You knew Jyn?”

              “Only by reputation.”

\--

              “That’s some story kid.” Han didn’t like to toot his own horn, but no other pilot he knew could pull off escaping the Empire without leaving a trace. He had a sinking feeling that he would have to lie low for a while.

              “I’d rather you not spread that story around.” Jyn was sitting with her back to flight consul, Chewie flying, while Han stood in the threshold. Jyn’s blue eyes didn’t look away from Han once, and he hoped she knew that Han and Chewie would never betray her.

              “Can’t have people know you have more interesting stories than me. Then I might have to start buying my own drinks.”

              “Can’t have that.” Jyn rolled her eyes, but gave him a crooked smile. Han turned to check the damage on his lady before he heard “Thank you” whispered softly behind him. He waved her off.

              “Don’t go soft on me now, Erso.” He turned back around and looked inquisitively at Jyn. “No word from your Dad?” It was the first time she broke eye contact.

              “He’s dead.”

-

              “What do you know about the Death Star plans?” Han shrugged.

              “Assumed you got a lucky break.” He knew that getting the plans was a big deal, something Luke and Leia were deeply invested in. He hadn’t paid much attention at the time, more interested in a payload then politics. He only returned to protect Luke’s neck, since the dumb farm boy had been determined to die heroically.

              “Lucky doesn’t begin to sum it up.” Leia sat down and Han followed suit. He became cognizant of the crowd around him, but stared at Leia rather than their faces, missing the pity and mourning etched across them.

              “Jyn Erso had been imprisoned as Liana Halilk for illegal activities,” Han snorted but did not interrupt, “And safe to say she pissed off the wrong people.”

              “Dumb kid.” Draven nodded.

              “We orchestrated her escape-“

              “For something in return I gather.” Draven shrugged in a way that made Han want to sock him. Based on Chewie’s low growl, he agreed.

              “We had sources that Saw Guerrera, who was-“

              “I know who he was, what does this have to do with Jyn?”

              “We needed her. Saw had something we needed and Jyn could get it for us. Something that could get us to her father.”

              “ _Her father is still alive?”_ Han translated quickly, startled.

              “He was.” Han swallowed. “Jyn and an agent of ours managed to track him down before he was killed.” Han had questions, but now was not the time.

              “So where is Jyn now?” Slowly the audience around them began to excuse themselves, leaving Han and Chewie alone with Draven, Lando, and Leia. Draven scratched the back of his head and looked down, staying silent.

              “The man asked you a question, General.” The easy charm of Lando had been replaced with thinly veiled anger.

-

              Chewie and Han howled with laughter as Lando pressed ice against his quickly swelling eye, Jyn trying to not look to pleased with herself.

              “Alright, not interested in flirting, I’ll keep that in mind.” Lando looked her up and down. “Pretty thing like you must be interested in someone though.” He arched an eyebrow. “Maybe a girl?”

              “Just because she doesn’t like your ugly mug Lando.” Jyn pursed her lips while Han enjoyed hassling Lando.

              “Not that this isn’t so much fun, but can we please talk about something else. Maybe the job at hand?” Lando grinned.

              “All business Liana, that’s no good.” Jyn glared. “Alright Alright.” Lando stood up and reached for his datapad, game face on. “This is one person job though, and frankly she’s one for it.” He nodded at Jyn. “Got a good reputation kid. You might do alright.”

              “What’s the job anyway?” Lando shook his head at Han.

              “It’s not for you Han. The contact will need someone who’s actually a good liar for this one. Let’s say he’s in need of documents.”

              “I’m a great liar!” The other three stared at Han, before busting out laughing. Han felt vaguely offended. But Jyn was better at subtle jobs, and was a damn fine forger too. Han didn’t have the patience for those kinds of jobs. Jyn sat down and began reading through the datapad. “Got anything for me, Lando?” The Falcon’s hyperdrive needed upgrades, and Chewie’s and his pockets were empty.

              “Jabba is looking for some transporters, but I wouldn’t recommend you take him up on that.”

              “Jabba loves me.” Lando leveled him a look. “Come on Lando, I could use the work.”

              “Fine but try not to piss him off. That is one vindictive Hutt, and I don’t think even I could save your ass from him.” Han saluted him.

              “I’ll be my normal charming self.” He heard Jyn snort and gestured rudely at her.

              Lando excused himself to do whatever the hell it is that he does, leaving Han and Chewie to discuss their plans while Jyn read through the datapad.

              “Where are you heading?”

              “Corlug.” Jyn looked up. “Should be simple enough.”

\--

              “Jyn’s father had been head engineer in the Death Star project, and had worked in a weakness that could destroy the entire ship. The plans were on Scarif.” There was a pause. Leia cleared her throat.

              “The council would not clear a mission to retrieve the plans.” Han’s forehead furrowed.

              “Why not?”

              “Politics.” Draven spit out, like it was a dirty word. Han had to agree with the man. Leia ignored him.

              “There was not enough proof that the plans or the weakness actually exist. So Jyn and a group of men went rogue, going to Scarif and retrieving the plans themselves.”

              “So she did it? She got you the plans.” Han swelled up with hope, and instantly deflated at the look of Leia’s face.

              “They were able to send out a signal with the plans, but there were no survivors of the Rogue One squadron.” Han suddenly wished the Empire still existed so he could personally burn it to the ground.

 “She died a hero, Han.”

              “That was the last thing she wanted to be.” Big damn heroes, how did they turn out like this. They were just trying to survive and have a good time. Han felt sick to his stomach. He could hear Lando cursing under his breath before walking away. He had the right idea. Chewie gave out a cry, one that made Han’s eyes tear up dangerously

              “What did Chewie say?” Leia looked at the two of them, worried, unsure of what to say. Han closed his eyes, thinking of the last time Chewie had used that endearment.

\--

              “Don’t do anything dumb kid.”

              “Pretty sure that’s my line.” Jyn leaned against the wall as she watched Chewie and Han load up the Millennium Falcon. Han walked up and clasped her arm, Jyn returning the gesture.

              “I mean it Jyn.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Stay safe.”

              “Going soft Solo?” Jyn grinned.

              “Don’t want to have to worry about comforting Chewie, the big crybaby.” On cue, Chewie appeared, sweeping Jyn into a big bear hug. She squirmed and laughed, demanding to be put down. When Chewie finally acquiesced, she straightened out her clothes and huffed, her face flushed.

              “Try not to piss off anyone who might follow through on the death threats.” Han threw his hands in the air.

              “You get one death threat-”

              “Five death threats.”

              “Fine, you get five death threats and people won’t stop worrying.” Jyn just smiled that crooked smile at him before shooing them towards their ship.

              “It’s time to go. I got a ship to catch.” Chewie gave her one more soft hug that she return. He affectionately growled something that made her hide her face in his fur while Han found himself nodding in agreement.

\--

              “Han? What did Chewie say?”

              “Little Sister.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes the title is a Firefly reference it just fit.
> 
> Kudos/Comments would make my day :))))) 
> 
> I'm broromini on tumblr if you feel the need to talk to me about how Han Solo and Jyn Erso would totally be long suffering smuggler bros (or cry about star wars in general.)


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